Automatic safety catch



Dec, 19, 1950 F. VOGEL AUTOMATIC SAFETY CATCH Filed Nov. 20, 1945 II .It rfll rtvl 1 Patented Dec. 19, 1950 AUTOMATIC SAFETY CATCH Frank Vogel, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to Albert H. Reef, Hymen H. Novack, and Irving Haber, all of Philadelphia, Pa.

Application November 20, 1945, Serial No. 629,822

5 Claims.

My invention relates to a new and'useful automatic safety catch for use on brooches, pins and other similar small articles of jewelry, and has for one of its objects to provide an exceedingly simple, effective and inexpensive device of this character which will be positively retained in a closed or locked position while in use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a safety catch including a body fashioned from a strip of sheet metal in which is slidably mounted a stamped-out spring actuated latch member, said body carrying a stop to limit the movements of the latch in one direction.

Another object of the invention is to provide a body with a pin keeper slot, the edges of the material of the body leading to said slot being curved convexly to provide a flaring mouth or entrance to the slot.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sliding latch member having a curved and undercut beak that will function at one time similar to a cam whereby the latch will be moved in one direction against the action of a spring due to pressure on a pin being inserted into the body slot, and at another time act as a holder to prevent the pin from moving the latch member towards the open position.

Another object of the invention is to fashion a head to the latch member to receive and as sist in holding the spring in place.

Another object of the invention is to construct the body of the catch with inclined side edges and fashion the latch member in a similar manner in order to make the base of the catch relatively narrow.

With the above and other objects in View, this invention consists of the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and then designated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains may understand how to make and use the same, I will describe its construction in detail, referring by numerals to the accompanyin drawing forming a part hereof, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view showing my automatic safety catch as mounted in operative position on the back of an article of jewelry to receive the pointed end of the pin.

Fig. 2 is a face View of the blank from which the body of the catch is fashioned.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the catch body after being formed or bent into proper shape.

Fig. 4 is an end or edge View thereof.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the completely assembled safety catch, showing in dotted lines the, position of the handle before being bent over to form the finger piece.

Fig. 6 is a top end view of the safety catch.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of a modified form of the safety catch, utilizing a different type of spring.

Fig. 8 is a top end view thereof.

Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the safety catch with one of the side walls partially broken away and the bridge in section. showing another fomi of stop.

Fig. 10 is a sectional elevation thereof on the line l0|0 of Fig. 9, looking in the direction of the arrows, I

Fig. 11 is a side elevation of another modification, illustrating still another type of stop.

Fig. 12 is a broken sectional elevation on the line l2--|2 of Fig. 11, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 13 is a side elevation of another modificae tion of the safety catch, illustrating a further type of stop. In carrying out my invention as herein em bodied 55 represents the body of the auto matic safety catch including a base IE which may have an aperture I! therein to permit easy soldering of the device to a suitable brooch, pin. or the like, conventionally illustrated at [8 in Fig. 1. From one edge of the base projects the side wall I 9 at right angles to said base. Said side wall has an aperture 20 providing parallel edges throughout the major portion thereof, with the upper ends of said edges curved con vexly as indicated at 2|. From the outer ends of said side wall 28 project connecting wall or bridges 22 and from these extend the companion side wall 23 also having an aperture 2'5,

formed therein with parallel side edges through.

out the major portion thereof, which side edges are curved convexly at their outer ends as indicated at 25. The side walls i 9 and 23 are nositioned parallel to each other as shown in Fig. 4 with the base :6 extending to one side thereof. A stop or tongue 28 projects from one of the side walls and into the aperture of the other side wall and for purposes of illustration it is shown as projecting from side wall l9, and. if the body is produced from sheet metal, said stop is provided from material that is not completely severed from the body of said side wall during the formation of the aperture.

Particular attention iscalled to the fact that the apertures in the side walls are in direct alignment with each other to function as a keeper for the pin tongue 29 of the brooch or other article of jewelry and the side edges l! of both side walls 19 and 23 flare outwardly from the base It to the outer walls 22. This provides a relatively narrow base while permitting the outer end of the body to be somewhat larger, and therefore an article of jewelry having a small space on which to mount the safety catch may accommodate this device, although the outer end may extend beyond the confines of said article of jewelry.

A latch member is formed from a strip of flat material fashioned to include a shank 3| hav ing a beak 32 at its outer end I03 and said beak has a convexly curved outer edge to act as a cam when the pin tongue 29 is engaged therewith and said beak also has an undercut or inclined lower edge 33 to assist in looking the pin tongue 29 between the beak and the inner edges of the side Walls of the body. From the inner end I34 of the shank 3| projects a cross piece 34 and from the opposite end of said cross piece projects a stem 35 so that the shank and stem are in the same plane. This latch member is of approximately the same thickness as the width of the chamber 36 provided by the spacing of the side walls I9 and 23 of the body, and said latch member is approximately the same height as said chamber 36 so that most of the time it is resting against the inner surfaces of the base l8 and the outer Walls 22 for sliding movements. From the outer end of the stem 35 projects an arm 37 which extends outside of the body of the device and adjacent to the outer end of the arm are formed shoulders 38 against which rests one end of a coil spring 39 the other end resting against the edges of the side walls of the body, thereby normally urging the latch member towards and into its closed position, as herein illustrated. At the outer end of the arm 39 is a finger piece 40 projecting at right angles to the arm in any suitable direction. Where the latch member is pr0- duced from a flat piece of metal it can be stamped out and the finger piece 40 then bent over at right angles. In fashioning the latch member, the distance from the terminal to the beak 32 and the adjacent edge of the stem 35 should be approximately equal to the width of the aperture 20, so that when moved inward to its open position, the beak will in no way hinder the free entrance of the pin tongu into the apertures, and when in its closed position, the beak will project completely across the apertures and thereb prevent the withdrawal of the pin tongue.

The element 28 bridges the space between the two side walls of the body and overlies the cross piece 34 of the latch member and thereby acts as a stop to prevent withdrawal of the latch member from the body through the action of the spring 31.

In place of the element 28 other forms of stops may be provided, one of which is shown in Figs. 9 and 10, wherein the base l6 of the body [Ed has a portion set up or embossed to provide a rib which functions as a stop 41 and this registers with a notch 42 cut out of the inner end of the cross piece of the latch member 30a. 7

In place of either of the other forms of stop above described, one of the side Walls of the body [5?) may be set up from the inside or embossed to provide a housing wherein the opposite walls function as stops 43 for a projection 44 on a face of the latch member and this projection may be an embossed portion or a lug formed on or fixed to the latch member, as shown in Figs. 11 and 12.

In lieu of any of the other forms of stops, one may be provided as suggested in Fig. 13 wherein the stop 45 is a protuberance or teat projecting across the chamber 35 at one end of the body l5c of the catch, as from the base l8. Such a construction positions the stop in the path of travel of the latch member 300 as it is urged towards its closed position by the spring 39.

In place of a coil spring about the arm, an angular spring 46, Figs. 7 and 8, may be utilized and in this case one leg 46a of the spring is inserted between the base and the inner end I05 of the latch member 3811 with its terminal resting against the stop 41 and the other leg 46b of said spring is located outside of the body Hid and extends upwardly into a, socket 31a formed between the finger piece 40 and an angular wall 40a which extends out from one side of the arm in the same direction as a finger piece and then inward or downward parallel with the arm.

As will be apparent from the foregoing description, stops for limiting the movement of the latch member and the actuating springs for said latch member, may assume a number of different forms, types or styles, but in all instances the object is to urge the latch by spring means in one direction and limit the movements of said latch to prevent accidental ejection from the body member.

In actual practice the side edges of the body and latch are made inclined or tapering in order that the base shall be as narrow a possible for all practical purposes, and where a coil spring is used the shoulders 38 are formed in back of inclined edges 33a and this spring may be slightly stretched or deformed and slipped over the enlargement of the arm until the spring is behind the shoulders, where it will remain until purposely demounted.

With the safety catch on an article of jewelry as shown in Fig. 1, when the pin tongue 29 is moved towards the catch it will be guided by the curved surfaces 2| and 25 into the apertures 20 and 24 and with sufficient force pressing on the tongue 29 it will ride over the beak 32 and force said beak out of the way by cam action and against the urging of the spring 39. As soon as the pin tongue 29 has passed the beak of the latch member, said latch member will be moved in the opposite direction by the spring, thereby securing and holding the pin tongue captive within the safety catch.

' A sufllcient pressure on the finger piece 4!! to overcome the tension of the spring 39, will slide the latch member into a retracting direction, thereby permitting the pin tongue to be released.

Of course I do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction herein shown and described, as these may be varied within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful is:

1. An automatic safety catch comprising a body member formed of a plate including a base, a pair of parallel spaced side walls having slots extending inwardly from the outer ends opposite the base, said side walls having the outer edges converging towards their inner ends at the base, said base and side walls forming a chamber and underlying the other of said side walls, a latch member slidably mounted in the chamber between the two side walls, said latch member including a shank having a beak with a curved outer edge extending therefrom and adapted to project across the slots in the side walls, a cross member projecting from the lower end of the shank, a stem projecting upwardly from the cross member and spaced from the tip of the beak, an arm projecting from the stem and extending outside of the body, and shoulders on said arm, a spring between said shoulders and the adjacent edges of the body side walls, a finger piece projecting from the arm, and a stop to limit the movements of the latch member.

2. The structure in claim 1 wherein the stop is an element extending from one Side wall to the other in the region of the inner ends of the slots.

3. The structure in claim 1 wherein the stop consists of a projection at one edge of the body in the path of travel of the latch member during its propulsion by the spring.

4. The structure in claim 1 wherein the stop comprises a rib formed from the base and registering with a notch in the adjacent edge of the latch member.

5. An automatic safety catch comprising a body member formed of a plate folded upon itself to form side walls, a base extending from the inner end of one of said side walls and projecting across the adjacent end of the outer side wall, said side walls having apertures extending from the outer ends inwardly towards the base and terminating short of said base, a latch member slidably mounted between said side walls and including a shank, a beak projecting from the outer end of said shank to extend across the apertures in the side walls and having an inclined inner edge and a convex outer 'edge, a cross member projecting from the shank, a stem projecting from the cross member and diverging upwardly relative to the shank and spaced from the tip of the beak and an arm projecting from the stem outside of the body side walls, a spring connected to the arm and engaging the body member to normally maintain of the latch member across the apertures, said beak being temporarily retracted by pressure on the arm, and a stop on the body member and coacting with the latch member to determine the movements of said latch member.

FRANK VOGEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 774,603 Remington Nov. 8, 1904 1,321,621 Goozy Nov. 11, 1919 1,490,338 Myers Apr. 15, 1924 2,057,006 Caccamise Oct. 13, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 10,169 Great Britain of 1906 760,061 France Dec. 6, 1933 

